Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024

The underlying finances of the streaming video business. And Patton Oswalt.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024:

THE UNDERLYING FINANCES OF THE STREAMING VIDEO BUSINESS
One of the things that continues to surprise me is how many people in Hollywood still don't have a solid grasp of the underlying financials of the streaming TV business. How value is assigned to content, how money is made and the most accurate way to determine whether a show or movie is "successful."

I thought about this again today when I saw these tweets from ex-Hulu and Warner Media head Jason Kilar:

I think that is a pretty accurate take and when I talk to people about this, I point them to a point them to a book entitled "The Innovator's Dilemma," a 1997 book which was published before streaming TV was invented. But many of the lessons will seem very familiar to anyone following the financial and strategic challenges of the streaming TV era:

What the theory — and the extensive evidence — in fact, support is that incumbents often are the ones to spot and develop new technologies while easily reorganizing themselves to do so. The problem is they fail to value new innovations properly because incumbents attempt to apply them to their existing customers and product architectures — or value networks. Often new technologies are too new and weak for the more advanced and mature value networks that incumbents operate.

This leads to the ROI needed to advance the innovation to be seen as low. In other words, management acts sensibly in rejecting the continued investment in these new technologies and acts in the company’s best fiduciary interests.

The streaming video business can be a profitable one. But we're still in the transition period where there are a lot of expenses and not a clear path to the best way to getting where the industry will eventually end up.

PATTON OSWALT TALKS 'THE 1% CLUB'
An Americanized version of the British quiz show The 1% Club premieres Thursday on Amazon Prime. Hosted by Patton Oswalt, it's a fun and uncomplicated brainteaser of a show that I suspect fans of the genre will enjoy quite a bit.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Patton about the show and whether he had any concerns about hosting a game show:

The skill set needed to host a game show is different than what you need to do stand-up or acting. Did you have any concerns going into this about whether it would be a good fit for you?

I was very concerned until I actually watched some episodes of the show from the UK. And I realized that it is a lot of crowd work, which is what I do as a stand-up, its very much the same thing. It's just in a slightly different format. And it's not that I was overly confident going in, but I did know that at this point in my career, I can just talk to random people and that it will be terrific. So that actually filled me with some confidence.

The full interview and a review will post early tomorrow at AllYourScreens.com

ODDS AND SODS
* Lifetime has announced the new film Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie, which will premiere on July 20th. 

* There apparently will not be a third season of the Max series 30 Coins, according to series creator Alex de la Iglesia.

* Here is a round-up of interesting global TV stories from today.

* WEtv and ALLBLK have announced their first competitive music reality series, Deb's House, which premieres on Friday, June 14th. Here's the logline: "The new series follows famed music mogul Deb Antney, who pioneered the careers of several high-profile artists such as Gucci Mane, French Montana and Nicki Minaj, as she embarks on a nationwide hunt for rap’s next female superstar MC."

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22ND:
* Chicago Fire Season Finale (NBC)
* Chicago Med Season Finale (NBC)
* Chicago PD Season Finale (NBC)
* Chief Detective 1958 Series Premiere (Hulu)
* Marvel Studios' Assembled: The Making Of X-Men '97 (Disney+)
* Nova: Decoding The Universe - Cosmos (PBS)
* Sistas Season Premiere (BET)
* Survivor Season Forty-Six Finale (CBS)
* Toughest Forces On Earth Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Trying Season Four Premiere (Apple TV+)

THURSDAY, MAY 23RD:
* Cradle Of Deception (Lifetime)
* Don't Forget The Lyrics Season Premiere (Fox)
* Elsbeth Season One Finale (CBS)
* Evil Season Premiere (Paramount+)
* Franco Escamilla: Ladies' Man - [first look video]
* Garouden: The Way Of The Lone Wolf Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Illusions For Sale: The Rise And Fall Of Generacion Zoe (Netflix)
* In Good Hands 2 (Netflix)
* McDonald & Dodds (BritBox)
* Red Nose Day: Cheers To Ten Years (NBC)
* Romário: The Guy (Romário: O Cara) Series Premiere (Max)
* The Blue Angels (Prime Video)
* The Kardashians Season Five Premiere 
* The Ms. Pat Show Season Four Premiere (BET+)
* The 1% Club Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Thirst With Shay Mitchell Series Premiere (Max)
* Tires Series Premiere (Netflix) - [first look video]

SEE YOU ON THURSDAY!